LEFFLER HAS SOLID RUN AND POSTS 11TH PLACE FINISH IN RAIN-DELAYED NATIONWIDE SERIES TEST IN CALIFORNIA

Displaying the consistency that helped lift him to a third place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship driver points standing last season, Jason Leffler enjoyed a solid run in Monday afternoon’s rain delayed Stater Brothers 300 race at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California in Fontana.

Leffler had his #38 Great Clips/Dollar General/Northeastern Supply Company Toyota running in the lead pack of cars all day in posting an 11th place finish in the second of 35 races during the 2008 NNS season.

Though he never did lead a lap, Leffler remained in shouting distance of the lead cars throughout most of the 150-lap test that had two other Toyotas dominating the action headed by race winner Tony Stewart.

In visiting Victory Lane for the second consecutive race, Stewart was one of nine NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars who earned the first nine finishing positions in the race that was originally scheduled to be run on Saturday afternoon only to be rained out and forced to run after the Sprint Cup event on Monday morning. Stephen Leicht, driving a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, was the first Nationwide Series driver to take the checkered flag followed immediately by Leffler.

Of the 43 cars that took the green flag, 13 were driven by Sprint Cup Series pilots.

“We had a good, consistent car today. We just didn’t have the power to contend with all of those full-time Sprint Cup teams and drivers,” Leffler said after the race. “I could keep the leaders in sight for most of the race, but catching and passing them was another thing. But I’m happy with the way we ran and believe that we will be right up there fighting for wins later this season,” Leffler boldly predicted.

Rain had canceled Friday’s qualifying session, requiring the field to be set by last year’s final owner’s point standing. That put Leffler’s machine eighth on the starting grid in the race, run before a sparse crowd that for one of the few times all weekend watched any kind of competition on the race track in total sunshine.

Leffler and his teammates will not have a long way to travel for the next race on the 2008 schedule as they head just a little east of Southern California later this week to Las Vegas for the running of Saturday afternoon’s Sam’s Town 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ESPN2 will televise the race live starting at 4 p.m. EST, and Leffler will be looking for his first top 10 finish of the year.

After two races this season, Leffler sits ninth in driver points, 149 behind point leader Stewart who is not running a full Nationwide Series schedule this season. Leffler stands just 45 points out of fourth place in the point’s race that is again dominated by Sprint Cup drivers. Mike Bliss, who is eighth, and Leffler are the first two full-time, Nationwide Series only chauffeurs in the top 10.